5 Surefire Signs You’re In Denial About Your Business

 “It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.” - Bill Watterson 

I think I’m having another Wake Up Alice/Alex moment. It’s time to come out of Wonderland people. How many of you are playing the role of King or Queen of Denial? You know, that’s when you think that if you don’t address a problem in your business it will go away. NOT! 

You keep thinking that if you just work harder everything is going to get better, and miraculously your employees are going to get the message and do their part too. That would be another big NOT! 

When was the last time you took a good hard look at your business? And I don’t just mean the bottom line on your balance sheet or bank account. Sometimes what you think is the reality may not always be an accurate observation. Sometimes we may need a little support seeing things from a different perspective.  

Here are 5 surefire signs that you are living in ‘Denial-Land’ about your business: 

1. Not recognizing when something is not working. You know that your product/service isn’t selling as well as it could be, plus you’ve heard rumblings of discontent from your team members around the water cooler. Yet what happens here is that you think the Good Business Fairy is going to make a surprise visit to your company, sprinkle magic dust, and miraculously your offerings are going to start flying off the shelf. Plus your team members are all going to come to work each morning wearing huge smiles and be chock-full of enthusiasm. Secluding yourself in your office and refusing to acknowledge that your business has problems isn’t going to fix anything. You need to face facts, figure out what isn’t working, and then make an action plan to address the problems before your business becomes another sad statistic. 

2. Not taking necessary steps to change what’s not working. Okay, so you’ve identified what needs to be fixed and you put off doing something about it until tomorrow… and then the next day… then the next week… See where I’m going with this? No one likes change as it requires work, but when you’re in business, you need to be open to adapting new directions and concepts. Digging your heels in and saying things like, “Well, that’s how I’ve always done it in the past” isn’t going to cure the problems you’re facing today. If your product or service isn’t selling well, determine whether the cause is internal or external. If your team is not performing at optimum level, sit them down and find out what’s working and not working. You won’t know until you ask, so take the bull by the horns, move forward, and take action. 

3. Not knowing your market and their challenges. You can have the absolute best product/service in the world, but who are you going to sell it to? Not knowing who your ideal client is and the problems your offerings are going to solve in their life is a huge mistake a lot of business owners make. Do an online survey of a random section of your potential clients. Ask them detailed questions to see if indeed that 30-40 year old woman, married with 1 child, working a full-time job, making $45K a year is interested in your newest mousetrap. You might be surprised at the answers you’ll get from surveys IF you ask the right questions. 

4. Thinking your business is different than the other businesses out there. “Oh, that marketing approach won’t work for me because my business is different.” Really. You’d be surprised at how many times I hear that statement. If you’re in business, you’re in it to make money… period. If you’re not in business to make a living, then you’re a charitable organization. Don’t get me wrong here. I have the utmost respect for charitable companies, but if you’re an entrepreneur, then this is not the direction you want to take for your business. Whether you sell apples or advice is irrelevant, as having sound business practices and leadership skills in place applies to ALL business owners. We all need to network, have effective advertising/marketing collateral, and we all need clients. You as a person may be different, but the operation of your business isn’t.

5. Expecting your team and clients to be mind readers. Everyone is guilty of this step at some point. You tell “Jane” to take care of a certain project and then act surprised when 3 weeks later it isn’t completed. Hello! Did you give her explicit instructions on what you wanted done? Better yet, do you have an open door policy where if she ran into difficulty, she’d feel comfortable coming to you for more direction? I’ve yet to meet a bone fide mind reader, but I have met a lot of ‘guesstimators’ – people who ‘think’ they know what their leader is looking for and unfortunately fall flat on their face because they miss the target. Be clear and concise when giving directions to your team. Don’t make them do their job based on assumptions as well all know that happens in that scenario. 

I know these steps might seem like a lot of work to you, but keeping your business on track requires work… period. And if you as the team leader, aren’t effectively leading the team, who is?